Seeing the Spirit
by SongsofPsyche1945
Summary: A twist on Part 2 of Touching Spirit Bear. The victim of Cole Matthews anger is his exgirlfriend, Kate  instead of Peter Driscal . When Cole finds out that Kate has gone mute, he invites her to his island to help her heal.
1. Chapter 1

Instead of beating Peter Driscal, Cole Matthews hunted down and attacked a girl named Kate, who called the cops at his party. Which has rendered her mute, depressed and scared. As Cole goes through Circle Justice, he learns from his parole officer Garvey that Kate hasn't uttered a single word since his attack. This short story takes place after Coles encounter with the Spirit Bear, and on his second attempt at living on the island.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS, THEY BELONG TO BEN MIKAELSEN. THIS IS JUST A PIECE OF FANFICTION.

Cole stares off into the horizon and sees Edwin, the elder Tlingit coming his way on the metal skiff, full of his supplies for the week. Cole runs down the rocky shore, waving at him. Edwin gives a short wave with his hand, then motions for him to come help him with the skiff. Edwin doesn't say a word, and looks graver than usual. They dont say anything as they bring up the supplies.

Finally Cole cant stand the silence and asks "Edwin, is something wrong? You are quieter that usual."

Edwin brushes some invisible dust off of his plaid shirt. "Kate is not doing well, Cole. Garvey just called and told me she attempted suicide. Again." he says gravely.

Cole stares at him in disbelief. "Why?"

Edwin gives him a look, "I think you know why, if it werent for you she would be talking, and happy. Her parents are desperate, they dont know what to do."

Cole suddenly has an idea, "What if she came here?"

Edwin shakes his head, "You know that is impossible." and then gets up to leave.

"No, wait!" Cole shouts back at him, Edwin stops in his tracks "what? What could you possibly do for her?" he says harshly.

"She needs to come here, she needs to soak in the stream, carry the ancestor rock, do the dances. She needs to know that I am sorry, she needs to be able to trust me again." Cole says in a rush.

Edwin raises his eyebrows at him, but says nothing and continues to walk down to the skiff.

"Just think about it, okay?" Cole calls after him. Edwin just waves back and begins driving the skiff away.

Cole walks back up the his cabin, a little put out that Edwin didn't like his idea. As he strokes the fire, he remembers Kate back when they were dating. She was so wonderful, why did he have to hurt her?

He remembered his rage when he found out that she was the one that called the cops on his party, she was the one that got him arrested for have illegal drugs in the house. She was the whole reason he got himself in this mess!

He felt his anger flare up again as he remembered cornering her after school and screaming at her for being so stupid. She just stared at him, didn't even fight back. She got what she deserved.

No, she didn't. He didn't mean to hurt her at all. He actually missed her laugh, just a bit. Cole felt cold shame run over him as he recalled Edwins words. She tried to kill herself, again. Again? When was the first time? Has she really not spoken since that night?

Days pass, and Cole goes back into his normal routine. Edwin stops by every fews weeks to hand off supplies, but every time Cole questions him about Kate, he just gives him a muted glare.

One morning, Cole wakes up to the sound of Edwin's skiff, followed by a much larger engine. He gets up to go look outside and sees the skiff, and a larger fishing boat coming his way.

He quickly dresses and walks outside. He walks down the rocky beach and waves to the boat and to Edwin. He sees Garvey on the boat, along with a man and a woman, and then he sees Kate.

His heart stops for a moment. How can anyone even be that thin? She looks like a gust of wind could just blow her away. Not at all like the healthy, athletic Kate he remembered.

The tiny groups heads for the shore, but Kate lingers behind a little. The woman, Cole assumes is Kate's mom hangs back and pulls on Kate's arm, trying to get her to come. Kate hesitates, but then reluctantly follows her mother onto the skiff then onto the shore.

Garvey greets Cole with a smile and a hug. "Hey champ! Its good to be back here!" he says happily. Cole smiles back at his parole officer.

"Whats all this? You guys are here!" Cole exclaims, overwhelmed by all the people on his island.

Edwin gives Cole a rare smilie "I took your advice, for the past few weeks the Circle has been meeting, and we decided to give this a try. Don't screw it up." He says, suddenly serious.

Cole notices that Kate and her parents are hanging back, huddled in a circle. He approaches them. "Hello, I'm so glad you were able to come." he says politely. He parents give him nods and forced smilies, but Kate doesn't even look at him. She is staring off back at the ocean.

"Well, I will show you guys to camp." Cole says cheerfully, then motions for the group to follow him up to the cabin.

The follow his slowly, not used to the rocky shoreline. When they get to camp, Cole opens his cabin and invites them in.

"So" Garvey begins, "Cole, why don't you tell us everything you've been doing here, and then we can discuss your situation with Kate" he finishes.

Cole nods, and then begins to show the group his cabin, and soaking pool, the shoreline, everything that has become important to his life on this tiny little island. They all listen intently, except for Kate, who hangs back behind the group, staring at the ground with her head hung low.

Cole reaches out to her, "Im so glad you came" he says softly. She retreats back from him like he had just tried to hit her and stares at him mutely. Then turns away, Cole sees tears in her eyes.

"Wow, this is incredible" Cole hears Kate's Mom say, Cole just smiles. "Yeah, it can get lonely out here, but I really do like it."

Kate's father frowns, "Youve really changed, did you know that? Or is this all an act?" he questions Cole.

Cole stares speechlessly at him. He had totally forgotten that these people don't trust him, at all.

As it gets dark, Cole leads them all back into their cabin and begins to cook dinner. "Tonight, we fiest!" he exclaims happily, and then begins to cook spaghetti and meat balls.

Everyone eats hungrily off their plates, except for Kate who just fumbles with her food. "Honey, why don't you eat something?" her mother tells her. Kate just shakes her head and turns away from everyone.

Cole feels a pang of guilt. Kate hadn't been like this before, she had been bubbly and full of life. The he notices the bandages on both her wrists and feels even worse. Kate notices him staring at them and quickly hides her wrists under her sleeves, blushing sightly.

"Alright, we are off the bed!" Garvey says happily. "We're going to sleep on the boat to tonight champ, and tomorrow we will make arrangements for Kate and myself to stay here for a few weeks." He tells them. Cole nods in agreement, then everybody files out for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

Cole woke up early the next morning. As he lay in bed he thought of Kate, and how much she had changed since that day. He felt an overwhelming sense of guilt he hadn't felt since he was young and actually cared about the world. _Why__did__I__have__to__be__so__angry?_He though miserably, and tried to push back the memories of the day after that stupid party. Kate had been the one thing in his life that had made him happy. She was there for him when his father beat him, she held him and took care of him when he couldn't handle things anymore. She was the best girlfriend he could of had and yet he destroyed her in one simple act. Sighing, Cole finally got up out of bed and prepared for him morning soak in the stream.

As he was walking back from carrying his ancestors, Cole saw the figures of Garvey, Edwin, and Kate's parents. He did not see Kate anywhere. He took a deep breath to steady himself and walking over.

"Good morning Champ!" Garvey said cheerfully.

"Morning everybody" Cole replied, trying to be as cheery as he parole officer.

No one else replied. Cole scanned the small group of people, but he couldn't see Kate.

"Wheres Kate?"

"She's inside the cabin, she was getting cold." her mother replied.

Cole nodded. "Has everybody eaten breakfast?" he then asks, the groups nods in unison. But there is an uncomfortable silence.

"All right, then lets get started" garvey says happily, trying to break the tension.

Kate's mother walks into the cabin and pulls a very reluctant Kate out. "Come on, honey its time to go" she says. Kate looks very pale, and is trembling slightly. Cole realizes that its not from the cold; she is afraid of him.

"I was thinking that maybe we could hike up this trail I made. It goes up this hill and at the end you can see for miles. It is so beautiful" Cole suggests.

"That sounds great, Cole." Garvey answers "lead the way!"

And the little group starts off. As Cole leads them, he looks back at Kate. She is hanging behind her mother, but she seems more relaxed. They hike up the trail in silence, the only sound is the waves crashing against the rocks. When they reach their destination, everybody is out of breath, except for Cole.

Cole reaches the spot first, and looks over the scenic view. As he does, he sees a spout of water. His eyes follow it until he sees the small pod of whales, gracefully leaping through the water.

"Hey look everybody, those are orcas!" He points out.

"Its great Champ" Garvey heaves as he looks over the side of the cliff, trying to catch his breathe.

Kate's parents don't say anything, but they have a look in awe on their faces as they take in the view. Kate stays behind the group, left alone as the adults creep towards the edge to get a better view of the animals. Cole approaches kate, when she sees him she takes a few steps back, fear in her eyes. "Its okay, Kate" he says she just stares at him. "Come on, don't you want to see the whales?" he asks, she shakes her head. She turns around and looks the other way, out into the forest. Cole sighs. Will he ever get through to her?


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for the reviews! I will keep writing for ya'll :)

Cole sighs as he watches the lone figure of Kate from outside his window. It has been two hours since her parents left and Kate hasn't moved from that one rock.

"She's so scared of me" Cole whispers.

"What was that. Champ?" Garvey says from the kitchen of the small cabin. "Of course she's scared of you. But just give her time. She has been through a lot. Try to put yourself in her shoes right now. Im sure she's feeling alone, afraid and maybe even angry. What you did to her was pretty awful.

" I know, and I regret it, but what can I do to help her?"

"First you have to try to gain her trust, but take it slowly. Scars run deep, Cole. What you did today is a start but its going to take a lot more for her to trust you."

"Whats my next step?"

"I dont know champ, you tell me." Garveys smiles, then steps towards the door. "we need more firewood. I'll be back" and then leaves.

Cole sits on his bed and thinks. _What__can__I__do__to__help__Kate?_He thinks to himself. She seemed so alone, so lost. _What__she__really__needs_ he thinks to himself _is__a__friend,__someone__who__she__can__talk__to,__but__how__can__I__do__that__when__she__refuses__to__speak__to__anyone?_ His thoughts travel back to almost a year ago, when they first met.

She was a year younger then him, a little freshman in a huge first thing Cole has noticed about was her long red hair, and how it was held in a bun with a pencil, and then her eyes; one was green and the other was brown. Some idiots had been teasing her and had tipped her bag full of books over. Cole has felt his familiar rage and told them off, vigorously for teasing her. He then had helped her pick her books up. Which was an unusual act for him, for a good deed from Cole Matthews was rare. But there was something about this girl that made him want to help. She had nervously talked a mile a minute to him, flushed and smiling. On the first day they met Cole learned that Kate sang soprano in an acopello band, was an en pointe ballet dancer, and wanted to become a doctor when she graduated.

Over that first semester, they had become close friends. She listened to him when he ranted about his abusive father and his timid, vain mother. He helped her with math and the bullies who's neverending catcalls of "freak" and "weirdo" always seemed to get to her even though she never said anything about. She was perky, confident and merry most of the time, but extremely self conscious about her heterochromia iridis. It was a good friendship, and just when he thought _hey__I__might__just__have__the__courage__to__ask__her__out_ the party happened. Why had she called the cops? He never found out, because he was arrested for possessing cocaine.

He winced as he remembered the cops pulling the bag out from his hidden cupboard and them cuffing him and bringing him into the station. He hadnt been in there for more than 45 minutes when his father came with his big checkbook to bail him out. His father had been silent on the drive home it was only until the front door had shut his father spoken and pulled out the belt. That night had was worst beating of his life.

The next day he tracked down Kate after school. She knew something was wrong, she always did but he didnt care. After school, he trapped her in the girls bathroom and had started shouting at her and she had shouted right back. It wasnt until he grabbed her and smashed her head against the mirror that she was silenced. "You little bitch, dont you ever call the cops on me again. Do you hear me?" he had snarled at her, then he left her bleeding on the bathroom floor. The last thing he said to her was "I cant believe I saw you as a friend, I dont know why I ever associated myself with a stupid, ugly little freak like you."

It wasnt until Cole had began living on this island that he realized that he never meant a word of what he said to her. He had been angry, but the soaking in the pond and ancestor rocks had helped him realize that he could control his anger. It made him realize that he was sorry, and that he missed Kate.

"Hey Champ, give me a little help with this firewood will ya?"

Cole jumps, startled out of his thoughts by the parole officer.

"Sure, of course" he says and quickly grabs a few of the logs on top of Garvey's stack.

"Have you thought about Kate?" Garvey asks him. Cole nods "yes, I really miss her. Who she used to be, atleast. How can I fix it, Garvey? How can I get her to trust me again?"

Garvey thinks for a long minute slowly putting the firewood next to the stove. Then grabs a candy bar from Cole's box of food and tosses it at Cole.

"Start small." he says with a sly smilie, then begins to prepare himself some hot water for coffee.

Cole stares at the candy in his hands, then stands up and gets his coat. He starts walking down towards the beach, to where Kate is sitting.

"Hi Kate" He says softly. He hears a sharp intake of breathe and sees Kate's spine stiffen. He walks slowly up to her, and she stares at him with fearful eyes.

"I brought this for you." Cole says softly, and shows her the candy bar. She continues staring at him, not moving. Cole takes another step closer to her. She jumps and scoots back, like a frightened animal.

"Okay, its okay" Cole whispers, then takes a few steps back from her and sits down, putting the candy bar on a rock that sits between them.

"You just seemed so lonely, I thought you would like some company." Cole offers, Kate remains silent and stares out over the bay. Cole remembers what Edwin had said earlier _she__hasn't__spoken__a__word__since__then,_and feels a rush of guilt for what he had put this girl through. "This island..." he starts, and sees her head tilt slightly towards him, taking this as a sign that she is listening, he continues "this island has helped me so much, I feel like I have changed. Please, Kate give me a chance." He looks up at her hopefully, but she remains still and silent. Cole sighs with frustration, does she even care about what he has to say? He sits with her for a few more minutes, but then stands up to leave.

"Hey, Im going to go prepare some dinner. Ill send Garvey down when its ready.". He reaches out to pat her shoulder, but she flinches away.

"Sorry" he whispers, and then turns and walks back up towards his cabin.

"How'd it go, Champ?" Garvey asks as Cole enters.

"Not well."

"Im sorry to hear that. Do you know what your going to do?"

"yeah, we need to help her find herself again"

"How?"

Cole smiled, "I have a plan" and then silently started stroking the fire.

Bahahaha. Cliff hanger, I know! This was a long and hard chapter to write. I know its a lot of character building and flashbacks but I felt like I needed to add in something to make it more solid. I hope ya'll like it! Keep reviewing and I will add another chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

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*Hey all! I have some good news!

I have created a blog with some drawings I made of cole and kate. Take a look, the url is on my profile! If you are feeling artistic and want to submit your own art please send me a PM and I will give you my email address.

Dinner was a silent event, the only sounds were the occasional words from Garvey, who was trying to get Kate to eat something.

"Come on Kate, please eat something"

A shake of her head

"Its good, I promise."

Another shake, and a sigh from Garvey.

Cole watched this all silently, feeling pans of guilt all the way. Besides a few nibbles of the candy bar, Kate hadn't eaten anything in the two days that she had been here. Kate looked so uncomfortable that cole was beginning to wonder if her coming was a good idea.

"Cole?"

Garvey interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Why dot you tell kate about our dance rituals"

"okay"

Cole saw Kate perk at the word dance. He smiled, taking this as a goos sign.

"Sure thing, Garvey" and turning towards Kate, he continued. "Garvey and Edwin taught me that dancing allows us to understand who we are. Im sure you know that, right? Each night I have danced around the fire pit and each dance has taught me something different." he tells her. Kate just nods but cole can see a tiny spark in her eyes.

Kate had been a beautiful dancer. At 15, she had already been on Pointe for 3 years. It made cole wonder if she had continued dancing ballet after the incident but something told him she didn't. This made more pangs of guilt build up in his chest. What had he done?

Garvey had taken over explaining the dancing for Cole and he was grateful. As he watched Kate nod, he remembered the first time he had seen her dance;

"Look at me!"

Kate shouted excitedly as she twirled around the dance studio on Pointe, her short pink tutu swirling around her..

"I'm a ballerina, weeeeeeeeeeeee"

Cole couldn't have helped laughing, she looked so happy and free.

"Gosh, you look like a flamingo" he had said as he watched her gracefully pose into an arabesque.

" I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you, my kind sir. I love every minute of it. If I could stay up like this all day I would."

Cole had just stared at her in amazement, she looked so graceful, so beautiful. The Pointe shoes clicked along with her as she continued dancing, eventually stopping in front of him.

"You're staring" she observed

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are! Ah I know what you want, you want to dance with me. Come on!" and had grabbed his hand and pulled him out onto the dance floor. She adjusted his arms and his feet. "there, now plie!", and she gracefully demonstrated.

"Haha no way, thats too girly for me" Cole has protested, but then quickly tried it.

"Nice try, but keep your arms up like this" and she readjusted him.

Cole had felt jolts of energy going up and down his arms as she adjusted him. She was about 4 inches from him and Cole thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

The opening of the door brought Cole back around. "Come on, we better get the fire started before it gets too cold if we want to dance" Garvey says, motioning for him to follow. As Garvey left, Cole looked at Kate. "I don't think I ever told you this, but I have always thought you were a beautiful dancer" he says softly to her. She stares at him, then nods slightly and walks past him through the door. Cole sighs and follows.

Garvey throws another log onto the fire. The loud noise and sudden sparks startle Kate, and she jumps back with a tiny squeak, right into Cole. "So you voice isn't completly gone?" he asks, she just shrugs and quickly walks over to sit on some logs behind Garvey.

"Well." Garvey starts "Cole would you like to dance first? "

Cole stands up, a little nervous because this was the one thing his parole officer was strict about. He had to answer and he had to dance or else he would be shipped right back to Minneapolis.

"I saw a bald eagle today. It was diving for fish in the bay."

"Good. Tonight we will dance the Dance of the Eagle. Would you like me to keep a beat for you as you dance?"

"Sure"

As the beat started, Cole began dancing around the fire. He crouched down and hopped around a bit. Then spread his arms out like an eagle and flaps them, pretending to take off from the ground. He tried to dive for fish, but felt self conscious with Kate watching so he just circled the fire, flapping his arms and trying to be graceful. After a few circles he sat down.

"So, Cole, what did you learn from the eagle dance?"

"I learned that when the eagle is flying, she is the most graceful creature on the planet. Even though when she walks on her legs she is clumsy, she is free in the sky." He look straight at Kate as he said this, meeting her eyes and holding them. He hoped his message would get through to her.

"Thats wonderful Cole. Kate, would you like to go next?" Garvey asked her. She shook her head.

"Thats okay, I'll go then you can." Garvey answers then steps up in front of the fire. He stands perfectly still, narrowing his eyes he turns his head up and looks around. He looks at a point on the ground then flaps his arms and dives towards it. He mimes chasing the imaginary mouse around the fire a few times before he catches it. He rubs his tummy like he had just eaten a good meal. The sits down.

"I learned that the eagle is persistent. She has a fierce will to survive and live, which why she is such a good hunter." Garvey says after catching his breathe.

"Kate, do you want to go next?" he asks and to Coles surprise, Kate nods and stands to walk towards the fire.

She crouches down , balancing on the balls of her feet. She stares at it for what seems like a long time, then she spreads her arms out wides and spins in place. Her eyes closed, she slowly brings her arms up and down, like she is flying. She flaps faster and faster and faster, raising onto her toes. Just when she looks like she's about to take off she leaps gracefully, twirls, and leaps again. Then she falls to the floor, where she stays for a while then gets up and sits down.

"And what did you learn, Kate?" Garvey asks her. Kate opens her mouth and tries to speak. Her lips form the words but not sound comes out. She shakes her head and puts her head in her hands. Garvey tries to comfort her but she turns away from him. Garvey looks up at Cole, and motions for Cole to help. He stands up to go inside.

"Its all right Kate. Your dance was wonderful and I think we both understood it without an explanation. Right Cole? Well, its freezing outside here, Im going to go inside. Come in when you are ready." He says, then he goes inside.

Cole approaches Kate. "Its okay Kate. I know how you feel, sometimes even the eagle falls down.". She looks up at him through her hair. Cole sees the beginning of tears in her eyes. "Im sorry I hurt you, Kate. I want you to know that." Cole says. Kate just nods and stares at her hands, her fingers run over the bandages that still cover both wrists. Cole pulls his stump closer to her. She doesn't look at him. "Im glad you danced,Kate. I really am." he tells her, she nods. Cole reaches out and takes both her hands in his. She doesn't flinch away. Cole takes a deep breathe and begins;

"I know what I did was wrong, but I have changed. I truly want you to see that. I want to help you heal, I want you to trust me again. I want you to forgive me. Please let me in,Your strong, Kate, I think I can help you, I think this island can help you if you just let it. What do you say? Will you?

Kate looks at him for the longest time, not take her eyes off him. Then she sighs, and shakes her head. _No._ A few tears role down her face as she pulls away from cole and walks away, leaving him alone outside in the dark. _What__am__I__going__to__do__now__?_


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry it's been so long, and the fake ending. Here is the real deal. ENJOY!

Disclaimer: everything belongs to Ben M besides my OC.

Cole stars quietly into the fire. "Why?"He thought. Here he was doing everything can could do make things better and she wasn't even trying. "Its just the second day, things will get better." he whispered to himself. Then he stood up and walked towards the tent he had set up earlier. "Its going to be a long couple of weeks." he thought as he prepared himself for bed, and finally fell asleep.

Cole woke with the first rays of the sun, as he did every morning. He stiffly climbed out of the tent, his joints creaking like an old tree. He then walked over to his cabin and knocked softly on the door.

"I'm going to the pond now if anybody wants to join me."

A sleepy Garvey replied "ugghh what time is it?"

"it's time to soak in the pond."

There was a pause, and then Garvey said "Go on, we will catch up with you."

"Alright"

Feeling slightly rejected, Cole made his way to his pond by himself. About 10 minutes into his soak, he heard footsteps and then Garvey and Kate came into view.

"Howdy Champ, sorry if we disturbed you. Just wanted to show Kate."

Cole saw Kate looking at him with an expression of curiosity, but when he tried to meet her eyes she immediately looked away. He closed his eyes and tried to tune out Garvey explain the pond and then the ancestor rock

When Cole was ready to get out, they politely turned away while he dressed.

"wooo, that was chilly today. I'm glad the weathers getting warming thought, I haven't sat that long since the summer months." Cole told them casually. Garvey just gave him a quick nod, then said "why dont you show Kate the ancestor rock."

Cole nodded, and then started looking for the familiar rock. Once he found it, he motioned towards

"Alright, come on Kate let's find you one, then we can walk up the hill together." he motioned for her to follow. She hesitated, looking up at Garvey.

"you go on by yourself, it's okay I'll be waiting right here for you two." Garvey told her kindly. She took a deep breathe, then turned towards Cole and took a step, then another. Cole couldnt help but smilie. This was the first time she had approached him without someone leading her.

Once she had found her very own rock, they started up the hill without Garvey. Kate walked several feet behind Cole, keeping her distance as Cole told her about the climb.

" Each step represents your life, sometimes you stumble but the thing to remember is to always keep going."

When he reached the top, he offered her his hand to help her up the last few steps, and to his surprise she took it. Her sleeve shifted and Cole saw the edge of the soft white bandage covering her wrist, reminding Cole of what he did and that it was his fault she felt so much pain. Their eyes met for a second, and then he looked away. She quickly pulled her hand away from his and they stood in silence, until Cole finally said quietly "I'm sorry."

Kate nodded slightly and then reached out to touch his shoulder, she gave it alittle squeeze as if to say "it's okay." and then she turned away from him towards the hill, and threw her stone down the hill. They watched it roll down and land near the pond.

"Nice throw, you were always good at bowling." Cole told her with a slight smile, then he gripped his rock. "My turn, the rock is now my anger." and then he threw it has hard as he could. They watched it crash down in silence.

As They silently walked down the hill, the shape of a sleeping Garvey came into their view. He had fallen back asleep while waiting for them! Cole couldnt help but smile at his parole officer. He quietly snuck up behind the sleeping man, and then with much enthusiasm jumped up and shouted "BOO!"

Garvey woke with a jolt and fell over, and Cole broke into hysterical laughter. "I got ya that time, Garvey!"

"yup, you did champ."

Then they both heard something that Cole hadnt heard in months: Kate's laughter. He smiled. Today would be a good day.


End file.
